Miami Herald slams Marco Rubio, calling Trump's candidacy a 'test of character' the senator failed

(Image credit: Getty Images)

last updated 19 October 2016

The Miami Herald endorsed Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.) in the Florida Senate race in an editorial late Tuesday — and in the process, the paper's editorial board did not mince words against the man Murphy is working to unseat, Marco Rubio. The paper acknowledged it has long supported the incumbent Republican senator in his political endeavors, backing Rubio even when he ran "an insurgent campaign for Senate against a sitting Republican governor in 2010."

But this time around, the board members determined Rubio hasn't lived up to the potential they thought he had in 2010 to be "the kind of statesman Floridians can be proud to call a native son":

Beyond the political differences, there are issues of sincerity and character for voters to consider. First, he reneged on his unequivocal pledge not to run for re-election for a position he once openly disdained — but only after he lost his bid for the Republican presidential nomination to his nemesis, Donald Trump. Then he endorsed Mr. Trump, whom he called a con man during the campaign. And still at this late date, he continues to stand by that endorsement, even as the Republican candidate stumbles from gaffe to insult to outrage.Mr. Trump's candidacy is a test of character, and Sen. Rubio is failing that test. How can voters believe he's sincere when he says he does not share Mr. Trump's awful views on Mexicans, immigrants, Muslims, women, etc., yet — at the same time — stands by his endorsement of the New York billionaire? His act is unconvincing. It reeks of political convenience rather than political conviction. [Miami Herald]